eBay shopping experience

eBay shopping experience

Is the homepage really the beginning or is the success page really the end?

Project overview

Our team was tasked with redesigning the eBay shopping experience in such a way that the user had a reason to keep coming back to the site after a purchase was done.

My role

My role was to take the lead on visual design and prototyping. I was also actively involved during the ideation phase and contributed to the design documentation.

Team members

Yangguang Li
Rachel Banks
Katie Fleggenheimer

Identifying our target user group

The employers at eBay provided our team with a research document that outlined the behaviors of 4 different types of shoppers. We had to pick 1 type from that and we picked a shopper type called The Seeker.

Here's a summary of the seeker's behavior from eBay:

Needs to feel like an expert on each purchase before buying.

Starts with a hunch and gathers information to understand options.

Only buys when certain that top criteria will be met.

Feels anxious about making the right decision about what to buy.

After going through the behavior of each type, we picked the seeker because we identified that we can all identify with some qualities of the seeker like looking for multiple options and seeking validation from external sources. Coming up with a solution for a target group like this will have a ripple effect on the shopping experience of other types of shoppers.

Identifying problems through journey map

We identified 2 major problems:

The seeker goes through a stressful loop of comparison because of the need to compare products based on different criteria off the eBay app.

Even after the purchase is complete, there is a shred of doubt in the seeker's mind which is an effect of the first problem.

The core idea

After walking through multiple concepts and brainstorming sessions, we defined our core idea - that of the eBay app acting as a shopping aide and guiding the seeker in their shopping process.

How can we provide the seeker with an easy way to compare products in order to pick the right one?

Our solution

Refine options

We built on the existing refine screen inside the eBay mobile app and provided the user with options to fine tune different criteria.

The user can choose their favorite tech website and choose to display ratings from that tech website.

The criteria comparison bar

Since the seeker tends to do a lot of research and compare different types of criteria, we created a criteria comparison tool.

Browse through the gallery below to see how the criteria bar design works.

The cognitive contrast

A different way to shop will have the seeker coming back to eBay for research and comparison.

By creating the criteria comparison bar, we aim to provide a cognitive contrast which would keep the user coming back, not just to purchase a product but also, for research and comparison. This changes how a user feels on the traditional checkout success page.

Through the criteria bar which helps in selection of criteria and product comparison, we help them feel assured and confident about their product selection.

Some other concepts explored

Visualization concept

Based on the set criteria, the user can view a quick overview of how different products compare to each other through graphs and charts. Con - Disrupts the current shopping flow.

Assuring after purchase

Instead of just showing related items, the user can view other items in the category and see how the purchased item is better than others through a criteria meter. Con - Doesn't provide much value other than assuring the user that it was a good purchase.

Setting the criteria for add-on purchases

The user can set the criteria for an add-on item before being shown what to purchase next. Con - having the criteria settings on the check out success page could supplement the main idea, but cannot be a standalone idea.

Show rating from third party website

This concept presents the user with a rating from a popular website and re-assures them of a good purchase. Con - Again, a complementary idea but not something that would have the user coming back to eBay.

Combo shopping

This concept gives the user a way to purchase 2 different items which complement each other. Con - might work well only for fashion category, but not all.

Key takeaway

While the prompt from eBay asked us to reimagine the way in which the checkout success page would work, we tried to approach it in an indirect way and not attack it head-on. This project was also a fun project because we had a chance to explore little details in such a small tool like the criteria bar and iterate on it.